Psalm 138 A Psalm of David.

 ¹I will praise You with my whole heart;

Before the gods I will sing praises to You.

²I will worship toward Your holy temple,

And praise Your name

For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

³In the day when I cried out,

You answered me,

And made me bold with strength in my soul.

⁴All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,

When they hear the words of Your mouth.

⁵Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

For great is the glory of the Lord.

⁶Though the Lord is on high,

Yet He regards the lowly;

But the proud He knows from afar.

⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

You will revive me;

You will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of my enemies,

And Your right hand will save me.

⁸The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;

Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;

Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Commentary

Vs. 1 “I will praise You with my whole heart;

Before the gods I will sing praises to You.”

 David’s desire to worship the Lord with his whole heart should be ours as well, For David will not be shy about his faith in the Lord, nor will he hold anything back, but he will (we will) worship the Lord our whole heart, even before the “gods”, which could mean the earth’s nobles and kings or their idols, it doesn't matter  he (we) will sing our praises to boldly to You!

Vs. 2 “I will worship toward Your holy temple,

And praise Your name

For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.”

David now declares that he will direct his worship towards the Lord’s holy temple, that is the place which the Lord assigned to Israel to worship and serve Him there. For it is the Lord’s Name, the Name that is above all Names, that is to be praised by us all who believe in Him (Acts 4:12). David’s praising the Lord’s Name then is born out of his believing in Him, in having received His lovingkindnesses and His truth; grace and truth as we who know the Gospel now have and receive by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “For the law was given through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” ^{John 1:17} David then makes a very profound statement that the Lord has magnified His Word above all His name. Why is this so important? because believing in the Lord Jesus Christ through His Word is the only way to know and obey God. For knowing the Lord’s Name apart from His Word will not profit you nor anyone. Again, the Lord Jesus Christ has exalted His Word above all of His Name so that His Word is the foundation upon which one’s faith in Him must be built if it is to remain.

Vs. 3 “In the day when I cried out,  

You answered me,

And made me bold with strength in my soul.”

In our weakness, in our distresses, in our deepest need, the Lord Jesus Christ hears us and He makes us bold in our souls when we turn to Him. This testimony of everyone who has received by God's grace His salvation (see Psalm 107).  From weakness to boldness, this is the Lord’s specialty in delivering and empowering us His people for His witness and works.

Vs. 4-5 ⁴All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,

When they hear the words of Your mouth.

⁵Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

For great is the glory of the Lord.

David’s prophetic words now see the Lord Jesus Christ exalted, hallowed, and honored above all. For it is His Word that will cause all the kings of the earth to praise Him when they hear the Words of His mouth. Indeed, not only will they praise Him, but they themselves will sing to Him, for great is the glory of the Lord!

 Vs. 6 “Though the Lord is on high,

Yet He regards the lowly;

But the proud He knows from afar.”

Even though the Lord is on high; higher and more powerful than anyone or anything; yet He does not rule like the kings of earth who live self indulgent and privileged lives, who seek out and regard the same. No the Lord regards the lowly, (all those they esteem least), whether individuals or nations, these are the ones the Lord Jesus Christ seeks out, for His eyes are on these, the meek of the earth (Isaiah 11:4; Matt. 5:3), but the proud He knows from afar (Consider Psalm 119:21; James 4:4-6, 10; 5:1-6; antithesis Psalm 131:1-3).

Vs. 7 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

You will revive me;

You will stretch out Your hand

Against the wrath of my enemies,

And Your right hand will save me.”

David’s confidence grows, for He knows that the Lord is with Him and He is for him. And so even though He walks in the midst of trouble, (not seeking trouble, and or testing the Lord to see if He will deliver Him), but as he lives and walks in this very troubled world, a world which hates him and his people, (which also hates us all who believe in Christ, John 15:18-25), nonetheless he knows  Lord’s  proven faithfulness and He will revive him (and us). For it will be the Lord Himself who will stretch out His hand against the wrath of our enemies, and it will be His right hand that will save both you and me (Isaiah 8:9-10, 11-20).

Vs. 8 “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;

Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;

Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”

David’s statement here that the Lord will perfect that which concerns him is so much more now complete for us all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (see Phil. 1:6). For the Lord’s mercy does indeed endure forever, the Lord Jesus Christ is the firstfruits of that fact, therefore we know that He will never forsake us the works of His hands (Deut. 31:6; John 14:18; Heb. 13:5).

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.